It’s official! K-pop idol Suga is gearing up for his mandatory military enlistment.
A day after the BTS member concluded his solo D-Day concert in Seoul, multiple South Korean entertainment news sites reported that BTS’s agency, Big Hit Music had released an official statement announcing the enlistment.
On August 7, Bighit Music’s statement stated that the rapper had terminated his enlistment postponement.
“Hello. This is Bighit Music. We would like to inform our fans that Suga has initiated the military enlistment process by applying for the termination of his enlistment postponement. We will inform you of further updates in due course.
“We ask you for your continued love and support for Suga until he completes his military service and safely returns. Our company will spare no effort in providing support for our artists. Thank you,” the statement read.
Under South Korean law, all able-bodied male citizens are to serve for 18-21 months by the age of 28. However, BTS members had previously been granted exemptions to defer their enlistments until they turned 30 after receiving an Order of Cultural Merit in 2018, by then-president Moon Jae-in.
Suga will be the third BTS member to enlist, following eldest member Jin in December 2022 and J-hope in April 2023. Both Jin and J-hope are enlisted as active-duty soldiers.
The announcement comes just after Suga’s three-night encore of his ‘Agust D’ concert in Seoul over the weekend. The rapper was joined by bandmates Jungkook, Jimin, and RM, each on different nights of the concert.
The Korea Times news website reported that Jin and J-hope were also present in the audience on the last day of the concert.
Last week, new military pictures of Jin were released, going viral on social media.
Due to the enlistments, the other members of the band are focusing on solo projects this year. All BTS members are expected to complete their enlistment by 2025.
